Refrigerator or cold-storage room.



PATENT-ED JULY 21-, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. J. WIRFS. REFRIGERATOR OR GOLD STORAGE ROOM. APPLICATION FILED 1120520, 1902. no MODEL.

PATENTED JULY 21, 1903. R. J. WIRFS. f REFRIGERATOR 0R 00m) STORAGE ROOM.

APPLICATION IILElj D30. 20, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHIRE? 2.

N0 MODEL.

a. IIW/ UNITED STATES Patented .July 21,1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. WIRFS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

REFRIGERATOR 0R COLD-STORAGE ROOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 734,266, dated July 21, 1903. Application filed December 20,1902. Serial No. 136,022. (No model.)

city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators or Cold-Storage Rooms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

7 My invention relates to an improvement in refrigerators and cold-storage rooms of the class used by butchers, packers, provision dealers, hotels, 850., also permanent str-uctures for general cold-storage purposes.

The improvements are calculated to overcome the defects found at present in all refrigerators, which defects I will first point out and then set forth my remedy for them' in my improvements.

All refrigerators of the class mentioned at present become sweaty, moldy, and are sub-v ject to bad odors caused by sweat and consequent mold on the under side of the ice-floor and the ceiling. This is caused, first, by

troughs being used in the pan, (orice-floon) which catch and retain for a time the'icewater, which results in the permeating of the air in the refrigerator with too much moisture; secondly, by imperfect circulation, the warmer air being allowed to strike the cold surfaces (the troughs) to condense thereon as well as on the parts adjacent to them; thirdly, by not providing a proper condensing-surface to take the moisture and odors from the air. I overcome these defects by a peculiarly constructed ice floor having no troughs whatever, thereby removing this one cause of sweat. The ice-floor is so arranged as to obtain the proper circulation of air. I further assist the circulation by reducing the obstruction formed by the edges of the joists by canting them at. the surface directly facing the cold and warm air currents as well as a cant-strip placed betweenjoists and on top of bearing for joists on the sidewhere cold air descends, likewise on same side a triangular strip against which rests an upright rackholding the ice in place, said strip, like the foregoing, having this shape to present a minimum obstruction to the circulation of the air. By insulating the inclined ice-floor 1 between the joists I prevent condensation on under side of same. I prevent sweat on ceiling by using a corrugated metal sheathing moisture and odor-laden air condenses.

here of room, I provide coves in the path of circulation of the air Within the room for both warm and cold air.

To avoid counter-currents and preventcold air from entering the warm-air flue from the ice-chamber, I continue the ice-chamber inclosure from the highest end of the insulated ice-floor upward with a double and air-tight wall to within a short distanceot' the ceiling, 'an opening being left at this point to admit the rising warm air into the ice-chamber.

My invention consists in the features of novelty hereinbefore named and in details of construction hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

Figure I is a vertical section of the upper part of a refrigerator constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 11 is a horizontalsection taken on line II II, Fig. I. Fig. III is a vertical section taken through the floor of the ice-rack on line III III, Fig. I. Fig. IV is a perspective view looking at the top of the condensing-sheathing of the icechamber with the top of the refrigerator shown partially removed Fig. V is a top view of a fragmentof the sheathing shown in Fig. IV and one of the refrigerator-walls in section.

1 designates the walls of my refrigerator, and 2 its top.

,3 is the ceiling of an ice-chamber A. The ice is supported in the chamber A on a rack 4, having slat sides 5.

B is the storage-chamber, and .O andDare respectively upducts and downducts through which the air circulates from the storagechamber to the ice-chamber and returns to said storage-chamber.

, 6 designates the joists on which the icerack 4 is supported, the joists being mounted upon supporting-strips 7. Each of the joists is chamfered at its rear lower edge, as seen at 8, Fig. I, to lessen obstruction at the bottoms of the joists against which the airstrikes in its upward course from the provisionchamber into the upduct O. Beneath the To avoidcondensation in the upper cor-,

55 directly under the ceiling upon which the i rear joist-supporting strip 7 is acanted strip 9, that inclines upwardly to said strip from the rear wall and obviates the existence at this point of a sharp corner for the ascending air to strike against. The joists 6 are also chamfered at 10 at their upward forward edges to obviate the existence of sharp corners against which the descending air passing through the downduct D may strike, thereby lessening the obstruction in the course of the descending current of air. Above the joists-supporting strip 7, between the joists,

' are canted strips 11, introduced for the same purpose as the strips 9, previously referred to.

12 designates coves located at the upper ends of the upduct C and downduct D in the path of circulation of air to and from the icechamber. These coves are located beneath the ceiling 3, and they serve to present rounded corners at the terminations of the ducts to avoid sharp angles in which the air in circulation would become dormant.

13 designates a corrugated metal condensing-sheathing located beneath the ceiling 3. This sheathing is preferably made in sections, as illustrated in Fig. I. The sheathing protects the ceiling 3 from the access of moistureladeu air thereto, and it being of metal the moisture carried by the air in the ice-chamber A is continually and rapidly condensed on the. sheathing and flows downwardly on the folds thereof as it condenses to drip therefrom at the lowerangles of said folds. The folds of the sheathing are cut away at their ends, as seen at let, Figs. IV and V, in an upwardly and outwardly direction from the lower angles of the folds, so as to remove the ends of said angles from contact with the adjacent walls of the ice-chamber and prevent the flow of condensed moisture from the folds of the corrugated sheathing onto said walls, as would result from the continuation of the lower augles of said folds to the walls. It will be seen that by the use of this sheathing the moisture is continually gathered, and its contact with the ceiling and walls of the ice-chamber to their detriment is practically obviated, this being due to the greater conductivity of heat by metal as compared to that which is possessed by wood.

The drain-floor beneath the ice-rack 4 is composed of upper and lower sections 15 and 16, positioned between the joists 6 and inelined downwardly, as shown in Fig. I. Between the fioor-sections are layers of insulating material 17. At the lower ends of the floor-sections are upright gutter-strips 18, to which the melted water flows as it descends through the ice-rack 4 onto the sections of floor between the joists 6. The upper floorsections 15 and the joists 6 are covered by metal sheathing 19. In the joists 6, immediately above the lower ends of the floor-sections between them, are duets 20, that provide communication between the spaces intermediate of the joists throughout the drainfloor. The sections of the drain-floor are slightly stepped from one side of the refrigerator to the other, so that their elevation across-the refrigerator is inclined as a whole (see Fig. III) to provide a gradual slope toward one end of the floor from which the water received thereon is discharged through a drain-pipe 21, which leads to the exterior of the refrigerator.

I claim as my invention 1. A refrigerator comprising supportingstrips secured to opposite walls, joists dividing the refrigerator into an upper ice-chamber and a lower cooling-chamber and having opposite sides at opposite ends ehamfered, a rack having slatted sides spaced from walls of the refrigerator to provide ducts, and a slatted bottom supported upon the joists, curved coves secured to the top wall and the side walls of the refrigerator in the ducts upon the side of the rack, a single drainfloor inclined both transverselyand longitudinally and composed of a plurality of sections secured between the joists, forming compartments, and communication between the compartments formed by the joists.

2. In a refrigerator, the combination of an ice-chamber having vertical walls, a corrugated metal sheathing surmounting said icechamber, to receive the contact of the moisture-laden air passing through said ice-chamber, said sheathing having the lower edges of its folds of less length than the upper edges thereof, whereby said lower fold edges occupy positions removed from theice-chamber walls, substantially as set forth.

EDWARD J. WIRFS. In presence of E. S. KNIGHT, M. P. SMITH. 

